


Until I Return

by n0cturnal_spirit



Series: University AU [1]
Category: Festival di Sanremo RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff and Crack, M/M, so little angst you won't even notice, this is so low-quality I don't even know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 10:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16084130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n0cturnal_spirit/pseuds/n0cturnal_spirit
Summary: Ermal has to leave for university in England, so he and Fabrizio spend his last day at home together.





	Until I Return

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> With university time coming around there just had to be such an AU, you all know that.  
> Besides, this is my way of trying to get over the sadness of my friend leaving for England, so this fic is (98% of) what we actually did before she departed (except for all the flirting and pining after the other, perché la mia amica ed io ci vogliamo bene ma non così tanto, ed io sono davvero sincera, a differenza di /qualcuno/ :D sto scherzando, tranquill*). All the places and people mentioned are real, except for the fact that none of this happened to Fabri and Ermal, I'm just projecting (that's why they might seem a bit OOC, sorry).
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

**[11:34]Ermal:** Wanna meet up for the last time before I leave?

**[11:34]Fabri:** YES!

But please don't say it's the last time

You'll be back for Christmas, right?

**[11:35]Ermal:** yes, but that's three months from now...

**[11:35]Fabri:** ...Well, then, let's go out now while you're still here

12 at our spot?

**[11:36]Ermal:** okay, see you there

 

***

 

Fabrizio arrived at their spot and saw Ermal already waiting for him, leaning against the wall, his sunglasses on and looking towards the cars passing by. As soon as he noticed him approach, he grinned widely, pushed himself off the wall and met him halfway for their hug, which was tighter than usual as Fabrizio did not want to let him go. It seemed as Ermal did not want to either as he gripped his shirt tightly and buried his face in Fabrizio's shoulder. Fabrizio did the same, inhaling the other's slightly perfumed skin, wanting to remember it as accurate as possibile. 

Ermal was the first to pull away and as he did, he sought Fabrizio's gaze,

"Hey." He was still smiling widely, yet his eyes gave away that there was also a hint of sadness that he was feeling. 

"Hey." Fabrizio cursed internally at how his voice wavered at that short simple word. He took a breath and tried again, "Did you finish packing?"

"Yes, _finally_! I honestly thought it would never be over!" Ermal lifted his hands dramatically, which made Fabrizio laugh. 

"Well, you managed it, it would seem." Fabrizio smirked at the other, who pretended to be offended.

"How could you doubt my expert skills at managing everything?! You wound me, Fabrì!" 

Fabrizio laughed again, placing his hand on Ermal's shoulder, and Ermal joined him in his laughter. Fabrizio felt a pang as he realised how much he would miss this, him and Ermal laughing at something so insignificant as if it were the funniest joke in the world. He took a breath once more and looked up at the other's face,

"Would you like to see the city for the last time before you leave?" He was then quick to add, "The last time until you return, that is."

"Until I return, yes." Ermal repeated, more to reassure Fabrizio than anything. "Let's go, then. It's been a while since we've visited some places, you know?" 

"We shall soon repair that mistake." 

They shared a smile and then went off towards their first goal: the park with the big lake.

On the way they talked about everything and anything, as always, and Fabrizio could not take his eyes off the other, wanting to memorise everything about him, about the _ease_ between them, about the feeling of _lightness_ that only being with Ermal brought him.

As they reached the lake, they found a shadowed bench and sat down, turning to observe the ducks swimming about in the water. It was Ermal to break the silence first, his tone full of amusement, 

"Do you remember when you tried to feed them, but too many started approaching you way too fast, so you got scared and almost fell in the water?" 

The memory brought a smile to Fabrizio's lips.

"Luckily, you were there to catch me."

"Or fall with you, since you wouldn't stop flailing about like an idiot."

"I'd like to see you being attacked by hungry ducks and how you'd react then!"

"They weren't attacking you, they were going for the food."

"Oh, shut up!"

They were laughing loudly now, earning a few disapproving glances by the elderly men, who were trying to fish in peace. That was enough for Ermal and Fabrizio to leave the lake, as they had already suffered the lecture of one old man reprimanding them for being so "outrageously loud" once before and did not want a repetition of the triade on "how immensely uncultured today's youth was". 

They let their feet take them to their next goal which turned out to be the monument on the Eastern hill that looked over the whole city. They climbed up all the 600 stairs (with various complaints from both sides along the way) until they reached the top and sat on the grass in the shadow of the monument, leaning on the stone. 

"We should have had another picnic here while we still had the time." Ermal's eyes were glued to the cityscape before them as he spoke. 

"If we had had remembered to bring food, we could have had it today."

"Well, we can leave it for when I return."

"I don't think having a picnic then would be a good idea, given how much it snows at the time." 

"I meant around Easter, but wouldn't having a picnic in the snow be fun?" Ermal turned to him with that look of his that screamed _trouble_ , and Fabrizio shook his head, amused.

"If you want to drench yourself, then freeze to death and then catch a cold, then sure, it would be fun."

"I won't catch a cold if I die first."

"Smartass."

They laughed again and Ermal leaned his head on Fabrizio's shoulder. Fabrizio immediately buried his hand in the other's curls, caressing him lightly. Ermal let out a sigh,

"I don't want to go."

"What?! Don't be stupid! You've been waiting for this for so long, and when they accepted you, you were bursting with excitement. What do you mean, you don't want to go?!"

"I simply... I will miss it, the city, my family, our friends. You."

Fabrizio kissed his temple and resumed caressing his hair, having stopped at the surprise at the other's words.

"I will miss you, too. But we wil hear each other most regularly, as you also will your family and our friends. As for the city, you will always be carrying it with you, in your memories."

"This doesn't make letting go easier."

"Yet you are not letting go permanently, just until you return."

"Until I return seems an awfully long time away all of a sudden." Ermal let out a chuckle that seemed more like a sigh than an actual expression of enjoyment. 

"You'll see how quickly time will fly by when you're busy with university and what not."

"I hope you're right."

"Have a little trust in me, would you?" Fabrizio grinned at Ermal, who readily returned the grin. This, Fabrizio thought, he would miss just as much.

As a group of elementary students and their teachers arrived at the base of the monument, likely on a school trip, Ermal and Fabrizio decided it was time for them to go.

"Aren't you getting hungry?" Ermal asked, as they were making their way towards the city centre.

"Sure. Aren't you?"

"Yes, despite the late breakfast."

"When did you go to sleep last night?" Fabrizio rised his eyebrow at the other questioningly, and Ermal looked away,

"You know better than to ask that, Fabrì."

"Madonna, Ermal, you're supposed to travel tonight!" 

"I'll sleep on the plane, it'll be fine."

"Sure, whatever you say. I want a full report on how they kicked you off because you refused to wake up once you landed."

"You absolute ass." 

Fabrizio would never get tired of listening to Ermal's laughter; he hoped he would not forget it until they saw each other again.

"So," Ermal gave him a serious look, "what do you want to eat?"

"You choose, you're the one leaving, after all."

"Well..." Ermal narrowed his eyes a bit, going over all the places they could go to. "How do sandwiches sound?"

"Works for me."

Except that the sandwich bar was stacked full of people, contrary to their expectations that it being a Sunday there would not be any need to wait for long.

"Are you sure you still want sandwiches?" Fabrizio turned to find Ermal with the exact same unamused expression he was sure he himself was wearing.

"Well, we could go for a pizza... Though, we had that a few days ago."

They faced the stuffed interior of the bar once more, and Ermal sighed, moving to open the door,

"We won't get our food faster while we stand here, so we might as well order and wait inside." 

They had steeled themselves for a forty-minute or even hourly-long wait (as was rather usual when the sandwich bar was so busy, which it unfortunately was almost always) yet they were pleasantly surprised when their food was ready in only fifteen minutes. They happily walked out and directed themselves towards the so-called "sandwich park" (just because of it's proximity to the bar) where everyone went to eat their just-obtained piece of pure heaven. This time, however, they were unlucky as the only benches that were not burning underneath the bright sun were already occupied. So, they changed direction and went to the Municipal park instead, where they found a shadowed enough bench near the fountain. 

As they ate their food, they listened to the (rather loud) conversation that two women were having on the bench next to theirs about how polluted the air had gotten.

"Oh, have you heard? It is because of some sort of gas that the government springs over the population for some reason or another," one of the women exclaimed, making the other gasp.

"Really?! Are they trying to poison us?!" 

"With a government like the one we have, I wouldn't be surprised." the first one responded, matter-of-factly.

Ermal and Fabrizio were trying to hold their laughter back, stuffing their faces with the now-almost-finished sandwiches to prevent themselves from bursting out. 

"Soon they might say they believe that the Earth is flat and then I wouldn't be able to hold myself back from laughing." Ermal whispered to him and Fabrizio did actually laugh out loud, earning himself a scandalised look from the women. He bit off some of his sandwich to hide his embarrassment, but as he looked at Ermal, he found him wearing a very pleased expression.

"You're not sorry at all, are you?" 

"Whatever for? I enjoy seeing you laugh." Ermal's smirk turned softer and Fabrizio looked down, feeling his face heating up a bit; who could blame him, it was still hot, even at the end of September, and a black t-shirt might have not been the best choice in clothing. 

They finished their sandwiches and got up, automatically going towards the park-excavations of the Roman forum and amphitheatre. They found themselves a shadowed place behind the columns and sat down on the stones.

Fabrizio made sure to remember every single detail about this moment: him and Ermal at his favourite place in the whole city, the afternoon sun shining above, Ermal's head on his shoulder, their sides leaning on one another. This was what peace meant for him and he was sad he had to let it go. It would be just three months until they were to see each other again, yet those three months seemed like an awfully long time in that moment.

"I will miss this," he heard himself whisper against Ermal's curls.

"Did you know that the city I'm going to has once also been Roman and they also have some ruins perserved?"

"Really?"

"Mmhm. I think you will like it there."

"We'll see when I come to visit you."

"I look forward to that." Ermal moved a little closer to him, even though it was barely possible, and put his arm around Fabrizio's waist, hugging him lightly. "Until then, we can feel closer to the other while visiting what is left from the Romans, you here, and me in England."

Fabrizio did not answer, simply intertwined his fingers with the ones of Ermal's arm around his waist.

They remained in silence like this for a while, observing the ruins they had seen millions of times, and enjoying each other's company, until Ermal's phone started ringing. He sighed, picking it up and had a short conversation with his mother, reassuring her that he would be on his way home right away.

He hung up and they both stood up, making their way towards the bus stop.

While they waited, Ermal turned towards Fabrizio and embraced him, whispering only so loud as was enough for the other to hear,

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too."

They stood like this until the bus arrived and Ermal pulled away, looking at Fabrizio's face with wide, slightly wet eyes. Fabrizio smiled at him encouragingly,

"Don't you dare cry. You have waited for this for so long after achieving it with a lot of effort; it is what you want. I will still be waiting for you when you return, so there is nothing to be sad about. Now go, have a pleasant journey and may the weather be sunny when you arrive, otherwise you behave like an outright asshole, and let me assure you, you won't find new friends with that attitude."

Ermal laughed then, the genuine laughter that Fabrizio loved so much,

"I found you, though, didn't I?" Ermal smiled brightly at him for the last time, "Until I return, Fabrì."

"Until then, Erm."

Ermal went on the bus and the doors slid closed behind him, taking him away. Fabrizio remained for a while at the stop, watching as the vehicle went away, until it hid behind the corner. He sighed and made his own way home, his thoughts still stuck on Ermal. 

 

***

 

**[20:13]Ermal:** _*attached image file*_

Why do lines at the airport have to be so long?

**[20:14]Fabri:** How would I know?

Have a safe flight and text me when you land.

**[20:18]Ermal:** It was a rethorical question.

 

***

 

**[21:56]Ermal:** Landed more than 20 minutes ago. This airport sucks. They don't have signs, the people who I've asked for directions so far have given the most inaccurate descriptions possible and my hand hurst from pulling the luggage along.

Wish you were here so I wouldn't have to write messages in order to complain.

**[21:57]Fabri:** Messaging doesn't seem to stop you, though.

And at least you speak the language.

**[21:58]Ermal:** I offered to teach you, remember?

**[21:58]Fabri:** Why, when I have you to translate for me? :D

**[21:59]Ermal:** I cannot wait to hear how you found your way out of here when you come to visit me.

**[21:59]Fabri:** You won't come to greet me?

**[22:03]Fabri:** Don't forget to send photos of your dorm plus your inevitable complaints once you've settled in.

**[00:48]Ermal:** _*attached five image files*_

It could've been smaller.

At least the view is amazing.

And there is a lift!

**[00:49]Fabri:** So you would not be left without your daily selfie, it would seem.

**[00:50]Ermal:** It's an essential part of the day, you wouldn't understand.

**[00:50]Fabri:** If you say so.

Now go get some sleep, you must be dying on your feet.

**[00:51]Ermal:** You're so boring!!!

**[00:51]Fabri:** You promised me photos from the Toga party you'll be having as a "welcome to university", and you won't be able to go if you're too sleepy.

**[00:52]Ermal:** I hate when you're right.

**[00:52]Fabri:** Goodnight, Ermal.

**[00:52]Ermal:** Goodnight, Fabrì.  

 

**Author's Note:**

> Do not hesitate to leave a comment, they make me happy (and I kind of need that right now, please)!


End file.
